10-03-22 Growing a Community Food System
Guest Bevan Linsley, Executive Director, Aquidneck Community Table
Environmental health, food security and community resilience are interconnected issues. One of the most sensible solutions for addressing these concerns is to organize a community food system. This involves identifying strong partnerships within the community, advocating for policies that support local growers, establishing distribution points to make food accessible to all, and creating community gardening spaces. Aquidneck Community Table is a powerful example of organization. Known locally as ACT, it manages three farmers markets and over 80 community garden plots across the island. Community gardens provide members an opportunity to rent a garden plot for an annual fee and grow their own organic vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers in a community setting.
Bevan Linsley is the Executive Director of Aquidneck Community Table, which she helped establish as a nonprofit in order to bring together partners in the Aquidneck Island community to focus on food issues. Together, these partners explore and enact solutions that strengthen the local food system, support the local economy and expand access to fresh healthy food. Over the past ten years, Bevan has overseen the development of the Island Community Farm property, which hosts 46 garden plots, one micro farm, a pollinator garden AND a food forest. ACT delivers education in school and community gardens, and it creates programs that inspire young people to love healthy foods. Bevan also serves on the Rhode Island Food Policy Council and on the state’s Agricultural Lands Preservation Commission.
This episode begins with a story walk around a local orchard property.
INFORMATION RESOURCES
Learn more on the Aquidneck Community Table website – https://aquidneckcommunitytable.org/
Check out the Rhode Island Food Policy Council – https://rifoodcouncil.org/
Visit the Food Forest Abundance website – https://foodforestabundance.com/get-started/?ref=WENDYFACHON
Fern Propagation – https://savvygardening.com/fern-propagation
Learn more at www.storywalking.com , https://netwalkri.com email wendy@netwalkri.com or call 401 529-6830. Connect with Wendy to order copies of Fiddlesticks, The Angel Heart or Storywalker Wild Plant Magic Cards.
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